


Temptation

by Liz_87



Category: Casualty (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24539302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz_87/pseuds/Liz_87
Summary: The morning after the night before. Series 3.
Relationships: Lisa "Duffy" Duffin/Charlie Fairhead
Kudos: 3





	Temptation

Charlie's eyelids felt heavy and it hurt to move his eyeballs. He tried to focus. His mouth tasted like something had crawled into it and died there. His head was throbbing. How much had he had to drink last night? More to the point, where had he even been last night? Focus, focus! A fragment of a memory resurfaced - the pub! Right, he'd been to the pub with the others from work. Why had he gotten so drunk? A wave of sadness washed over him. Ewart. They'd decided to have their own wake for him after the family had decided they didn't want any of them at the funeral. Ewart's death had affected them all but it had been seeing the broken looks on Duffy and Megan's faces that had spurred him on to organise something. It was hurting his head too much to remember anything more though so he gave up and decided to go back to sleep for a while.

Duffy opened her eyes briefly but shut them again quickly as the tilting of the room made her stomach churn. She tried to focus on her breathing, willing the nausea to settle. She feared her legs wouldn't carry her the few short steps to her bathroom and she really didn't feel like clearing up the mess of vomiting all over her bedsheets. Her head felt like it was about to explode as she rolled over and curled up into the fetal position, clutching her stomach. It was her own fault for mixing her drinks, she knew better than to do that! She risked opening her eyes again and found herself staring at a closed door a few feet away from the bed. What? Her bedroom door was on the other side of the room. Surely she hadn't been so trashed last night that she'd decided to rearrange the furniture in her bedroom on a sudden whim? She attempted to lift her head to see what else she had moved but that turned out to be a very bad idea indeed as almost instantly she felt the vomit begin to rise up her throat. Oh shit! She slumped out of the bed, clutching one hand tightly over her mouth as she crawled along the carpet trying desperately to get her barings before it was too late. Where the hell was everything? She spotted a bin and lunged for it, barely grabbing hold of it and bringing it towards her face in time before she was violently sick.

The sounds of vomiting roused Charlie once again from his drunken slumber. For a brief second he feared he'd vomited in his sleep but then he heard the noise again. It seemed to be coming from the direction of his desk. He slowly pushed himself up to sitting, his head feeling like it could fall off his shoulders at any moment as he did so. He wasn't alone, that was for sure! His companion was turned away from him however so at first her identity was a mystery. He forced his eyes to focus. Whoever she was, her skin was pale and scattered with freckles. She possessed a shapely figure too. If only he could see her face but that was obscured by her red hair and the bin she was vomiting into. Red hair... Oh shit! No! He hadn't, had he?

Turning away from her he got out of bed, wobbling slightly as he bent down to pick up his boxers and put them back on. He also picked up his shirt. He stumbled across the room and lowered himself awkwardly to sit next to her on the floor. He draped his shirt around her as best he could and rubbed her back. She was no longer vomiting but still occasionally retching and hiccuping.

"Shh, its OK. You'll be alright soon." He reassured her softly.

On hearing Charlie's voice, and feeling his hand on her back, several thoughts raced through Duffy's brain all at once. Why was Charlie here? Where was here? How had she gotten wherever here was? What the hell had happened last night? Lowering the bin to the floor she looked up tentatively. He was sat next to her wearing just his boxers. Her brain suddenly registered her own lack of clothing. She felt very self conscious and tried to wrap the shirt around herself. Oh shit! Her mind went blank. What the hell was she going to say to him?

Sensing her discomfort he staggered back to his feet. "I'll go get a flannel so you can... Um... Er..." His words trailed off as he stumbled out the bedroom. As the door closed behind him, Duffy dropped her head into her hands. She felt so embarrassed. How had she let this happen? 

Entering the bathroom Charlie closed the door behind him and lent back against it, closing his eyes briefly. He was such an idiot! He should have known better. He was almost 10 years older than her and he was her boss for goodness sake! He had a responsibility to behave properly towards her. Put a few drinks inside him though and all that went straight out the nearest window! A few drinks was all it took for him to be totally unable to resist the charms of his gorgeous, vivacious, headstrong best friend. He sighed, she let few people see the vulnerability that lay behind the facade she presented the world. He'd had to work to gain her trust and when he had he'd discovered something so delicate and precious. He wanted nothing more than to protect her and care for her but she was far too stubborn to allow that. What now though? Had he ruined everything between them as a result of being unable to control his desires for her or would she be willing to give them a chance? 

Sighing once more, he grabbed the flannel from the side of the sink and ran it under the tap before squeezing it out and taking it with him back to his room. He was about to walk in when he stopped. What if she wasn't yet dressed again? He took his hand from the handle and knocked on the door. There was a lengthy pause before he heard her voice telling him that he could come back into the room. As he entered he saw that she looked confused.

"Why did you knock? It's your house..."

She was now laid back on the bed, one hand massaging her forehead and the other holding her stomach awkwardly.

"Do you still feel sick?" He queried gently.

"A little," she replied. "But I don't think there's anything left in my stomach to come out."

He handed her the flannel and then crossed the room to grab a t-shirt from one of the drawers. He put it on and then perched on the edge of the bed near to where she was laid. Looking over at her he watched as she wiped her face with the flannel before placing it on the bedside table. It was then that he realised that she was still wearing his shirt, though she had put it on properly and made an attempt to do up the buttons. He didn't understand why she hadn't simply quickly redressed while he was out the room so she could make a quick getaway.

"I think..."

"Look about..."

They both spoke at the same time. She blushed and briefly closed her eyes whilst he cleared his throat awkwardly and spoke again. "Um, I think we need to talk about what happened last night, don't you?"

"Yes..." She replied hesitantly.

"So we went to the pub..."

"I'm so sorry I was late getting there." She interrupted him.

"You were! You never said why though."

She blushed again and bit her lip. "I overslept..."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You usually start work then..."

"I went dress shopping in the morning and I'm not used to being up so much in the day so, well, I had a nap." She shrugged.

"Oh, OK. Well, you looked... Nice..." He mumbled.

She couldn't stop herself from giggling. "Just 'nice'? Well thanks Charlie!" She rolled her eyes at him. Silence descended over them for a few moments until Duffy giggled again. "I can't believe that Kuba insisted we all drink vodka shots!"

"Polish tradition I think he said it was."

"I should have just stuck to wine." She grumbled. 

"Well you nicked my whisky at some point too."

"No I didn't! I swear you gave it to me."

"Oh yes, we swapped drinks didn't we? That wine you were drinking was awful!"

She shrugged. "It was the nicest one I could afford." 

A sudden thought occurred to Charlie. "I hope Megan is OK. It's all hit her pretty hard."

"You're right. Megan and Ewart were like a proper mum and dad..." Her voice trailed off as she started to sniffle and hiccup.

Charlie reached out his hand towards her but then stopped himself. He began to recall a similar conversation from the previous evening. She'd started to cry as they'd been walking back to her flat. They'd been near his house at the time so he'd suggested they pop over there til she calmed down. He moved his hand back to rest on the bed beside him. He should keep his distance.

"I'm surprised she didn't insist you got a taxi home with her."

"She wanted me to but I was hungry."

He laughed. "Oh yeh, you made me buy you a curry!"

"Did I? Well that explains why my throat burns!"

"I did try and convince you that it might not be the best of ideas but you insisted!"

"Best not tell Megan you let me make myself sick. She'd not be pleased with you!"

"Well to be honest Duffy I wasn't exactly planning on mentioning any of this to Megan..!"

"Um... Yeh... Probably best." She cleared her throat. "So we came here and I ate my curry. Actually I'm pretty sure you ate half of it."

"You started complaining that it was making your stomach hurt coz it was spicy and then, well, you burst into tears again."

"Sorry about that, I'm not normally so..."

"Hey its OK, its been a tough few days for all of us." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You said pretty much the same thing last night when you gave me a hug." She said tentatively. 

He shrugged. "Well, it's true." He looked away. "That was when I... Um... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I shouldn't have... It was wrong of me..." He stammered. 

Duffy was deeply hurt by his words. "You didn't mean to kiss me, it was a mistake? Is that what you're saying Charlie?" She replied sharply. 

"No! I mean, we both know it shouldn't have happened. But it did. We can't change that. You were in my arms and, I couldn't help myself, I got tempted."

"You got tempted? So that's all I am to you is it - a temptation?" She folded her arms and glared at him.

"In that dress? Yes!" He snapped back, gesturing in the direction of where the majority of her clothes still lay scattered on his bedroom floor.

"Oh so it's my fault you couldn't keep your hands to yourself is it?" She demanded.

"Oh bugger off with the innocent routine Duffy, you were straight in there the second I kissed you!"

"Oh fuck you Charlie!"

"You already did that. Twice!" He shot back, smirking.

"Urgh!" She got up from the bed and staggered across the room to pick up her clothes. "You are such an arrogant arsehole Charlie Fairhead!"

He threw up his hands. "Alright, look, I'm sorry. That was a cheap shot. Will you just sit back down so we can talk properly?"

"Why? So you can tell me how I make things so hard for you?"

"Well if that's what you're after then get back into bed and I'll give you another demonstration!" He suggested, grinning at her devilishly.

"In your dreams Charlie!"

"Oh you feature pretty heavily in those already and after last night, well..." He looked her up and down. She was stood wearing just his shirt, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. He shifted on the bed, she was really turning him on.

As the silence once again stretched out between them her anger began to fade and her fingers fiddled awkwardly with the hem of the shirt. "I should go home..." She mumbled.

"Um... Yeh... But... I could make us some coffee while you get dressed. There's a new toothbrush in the cabinet and some clean towels. You're welcome to use the shower if you want." He shrugged, looking nervous and unsure of himself.

She smiled. "Thank you Charlie." She left the bedroom.

As the door closed, he rested his head back against the pillows, closed his eyes briefly and sighed. He got up from the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. Coffee and aspirin would help. Coffee would sober him up and aspirin would dull the ceaseless banging in his head. His thoughts strayed back to Duffy. She deserved him at least trying to act like a gentleman. He opened the door and heard the sounds of the shower. Immediately his mind began to conjour up images of her naked and washing herself in his shower. His jeans felt uncomfortably tight as he hardened with desire. He sighed. It seemed that being a gentleman was going to be very tough indeed!

He wandered downstairs and into the kitchen. He filled the kettle and put some bread in the toaster before grabbing a glass of water from the sink. He drank it straight down and felt a little better for it. He then refilled his glass and took another one out the cupboard and filled it for Duffy to drink. He swallowed two aspirins and left the packet on the side before pouring the coffees and buttering the toast. He went through to the lounge to see what mess they had left it in the night before. He was pleasantly surprised that all that needed tidying away was the empty takeaway containers. As he picked them up he heard her footsteps on the stairs. "There's coffee, toast and aspirin on the side in the kitchen so help yourself. I'm just tidying up."

"Sounds like we both had the same idea. I just finished cleaning upstairs." She looked sheepish as they walked back through to the kitchen together. "I'm really sorry about that! I don't normally throw up, it's only when I mix my drinks. Promise me you won't let me do that next time."

"I'll try not to but I can't promise you'll listen." He laughed briefly and then his brain realised what she'd said. Next time? What did she mean by that? Next time they went out as friends or did she mean something more?

"I do sometimes." She replied quietly, glancing up at him over the rim of her coffee mug.

He turned away nervously and busied himself putting the takeaway containers in the bin. He was confused, why was she sending him such mixed messages? Not 20 minutes ago she had been shouting at him and calling him names. Now she was talking vaguely of "next time"s and giving him the sort of looks that caused his insides to go all funny. He swallowed nervously and glanced over at her. She was sat at the table staring absentmindedly out the kitchen window. She'd changed back into the dress she'd been wearing the previous evening. It was a fairly simple black dress which came to just above the knee when she was standing. When she was sitting, however, it rose halfway up her thigh. He'd always thought she had great legs so any outfit that showed them off was a winner with him. They'd been the first thing he'd noticed about her when he'd been introduced to her in Ewart's office almost 4 years ago now. The sound of her clearing her throat brought him swiftly back to the present.

Duffy had turned to look at him and saw he was a million miles away. "You OK?" She asked, a slightly amused look on her face.

He blushed. "Sorry, daydreaming." He sat down next to her. He noticed her hand was resting on the table next to his coffee. As he reached over he brushed his fingers against her hand before lifting the mug and taking a quick drink. He noticed she hadn't moved her hand away so as he placed the mug back down on the table he decided to risk taking hold of it. They sat quietly eating their toast, neither looking at the other, both pretending not to notice their joined hands on the table. As he finished the last bite of his toast, Charlie turned towards Duffy and, as she looked up at him, he reached over and tucked a stray strand of her damp hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek. He looked into her eyes and decided to make a bold move. What was the worst that could happen? Well, she could slap his face but he was pretty certain that wouldn't happen. He lent forward and gently kissed her.

He moved back slightly to gauge her reaction. She smiled and pulled him back towards her. The kiss quickly deepened and he felt her hand on his thigh. His mind was reeling trying to process everything. Last night they'd had an easy excuse, they'd been drunk and emotional. They'd simply sought comfort in each other's arms and that had led to them accidently having sex. Well the first time anyway. The second time had been driven by pure drunken lust. Now it was the next day and they were more sober and yet once again he found himself making out with his best friend. Did this mean she felt the same way about him as he did about her?

The kiss ended and Charlie rested his forehead against Duffy's, stroking his fingertips over her cheek. "I'd really like you to stay."

She smiled softly. "I'd like that too but I might be a little overdressed for a quiet day hanging out around the house." She giggled.

"I'm sure I can find you something more comfortable to change into."

"I'm not wearing a bedsheet all day Charlie!" She smirked.

"Well I was gunna suggest you could borrow something of mine but..."

"You are terrible Charlie!"

"You suggested it." He countered. He sat back and finished the last of his coffee. "Right, let's find you something else to wear, shall we?"

Charlie stood up and held out his hand to Duffy. Rising from her chair, she slipped her hand into his and they climbed the stairs once more. Arriving back in the bedroom, Charlie went over to the chest of drawers and dug out a pair of joggers, a t-shirt and a pair of socks. He held them out towards her. "Hopefully these won't drown you too much." He said. "I'm gunna get a shower and shave. Feel free to, um..." He shrugged. "Well, I won't be long." He turned and left the room.

Duffy quickly changed into the clothes he'd given her. Luckily the joggers had a drawstring waist or they would have fallen down. She sat on the bed and looked around. Up until last night she'd never been in his room before. She got up and wandered over to his desk. She noticed the top drawer was slightly open. She knew she shouldn't peek but it was really tempting. She carefully slid the drawer open. The first thing she spotted was a bottle of aftershave. She picked it up and, closing her eyes, inhaled deeply. It was a familiar, comforting smell. The smell of him. As she breathed in the scent she could almost imagine he was in the room with her, his arms encircling her, his presence a calming oil soothing the troubled waters of her soul. She resisted the urge to spray some on his t-shirt that she was wearing, instead placing the bottle back in the drawer.

She turned as she heard the door open once more. Charlie walked back into the room, a towel tied around his waist. His hair was tousled as he dried it off with a towel in his hands. Water droplets still clung to the hairs on his chest. Duffy blushed as she bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes, trying to ignore the warm sensation that ran through her body.

Noticing her reaction, Charlie spoke, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. "I, um, forgot to take some clean clothes through with me." Trying to break the awkward tension, he cleared his throat. "Why don't you go pick a film for us to watch? Hopefully you'll be able to find something you like. I'll be down in a few minutes."

When Charlie arrived downstairs he found Duffy on the sofa snuggled up under a blanket, the TV on and the box for Raiders of the Lost Ark on the coffee table. She shuffled over to allow him to sit down next to her.

"I never had you down as an Indiana Jones fan Duffy."

She shrugged. "Its got Harrison Ford in it, what's not to like?"

He rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head as he pressed play on the remote. They sat in comfortable silence watching the film for several minutes before Charlie spoke, his eyes never leaving the screen. "They're making a third movie in this series. I heard it's going to come out next year."

"Oh really?"

"Yeh, they've signed up Sean Connery to be in it too apparently. I'd quite like to go see it when it comes out at the cinema."

"I wouldn't mind seeing it at the cinema too. I bet the action sequences look pretty spectacular on a huge screen."

"Yeh, they really do. So much better than on the TV." He began to play with the edge of the blanket, suddenly nervous. "We could, um, go together if you like?"

A small smile appeared on her face. "Yeh, I'd really like that."

Charlie shifted his arm to drape it around her shoulders, a large smile lighting up his features as he felt her snuggle into his side and lay her head against his chest. He lightly kissed the top of her head and went back to watching the film.

As the credits rolled he looked down to see that Duffy had fallen asleep. He was hesitant to disturb her but then his stomach began to rumble with hunger. He glanced over at the clock, it was just after 4pm. Time to make something to eat before getting ready for work that evening. He lightly nudged her shoulder.

"Duffy... Hey, sleepyhead, time to wake up or you'll be going to work hungry."

She began to stir, her eyes flickering open. She looked over at the TV as she stretched. "Oh did I miss the end?"

He shook his head indulgently at her and laughed as he got up from the sofa, reaching out his hand to help her up also. As they wandered through to the kitchen Duffy asked, "So what's for dinner then?"

Charlie shrugged, opened a cupboard and pulled out a pot noodle.

"Seriously Charlie? Don't you have actual food in this kitchen?" Duffy queried. She pulled open the fridge door and inspected it's contents. She sighed and closed the door before turning back to Charlie. "How about we pick up some chips or something on the way to my flat?" Seeing his confused look she continued. "I can't exactly turn up to work looking like this and all my clothes are at home."

By the time they finally arrived at Duffy's flat it was a little after 5.30pm. Charlie had gotten changed before leaving his house and had driven them over, stopping at the chip shop on the way. She'd insisted he go in to fetch the food whilst she stayed in the car as she felt ridiculous dressed in his clothes with her heels from the previous night. He'd tried to convince her otherwise but she had refused to budge, folding her arms and glaring at him from the front passenger seat.

They walked up the stairs and she unlocked the door to her flat. She kicked off her shoes and grimaced as she looked around. "Sorry about the mess, just push stuff out the way to make room on the table so we can eat." She suggested as she disappeared into her room to find a clean uniform to wear.

Charlie wandered over to the kitchen table and found it covered with books. He lifted one up and looked at the page it was open at. Hearing Duffy re-enter the room behind him he chuckled and gestured with it towards her. "After my job are you?"

She blushed. "Well, I've been thinking about trying to get promoted but, oh I don't know, it's probably a stupid idea..." She shrugged and placed her crumpled uniform onto the ironing board.

"Don't be daft, you'd be perfect for the job. And, anyway, I think Sister Duffin has quite a nice ring about it."

"We'll see. Just don't go telling people this time. It was bad enough when you told everyone I was taking my driving test and then I went and failed that twice!"

Giving up on getting any more creases out of her uniform, Duffy turned off the iron and wandered over to the table. She grabbed a handful of chips and lent against the sideboard. "You do realise though, if I became a Sister you wouldn't be able to boss me around any more." She smirked before flicking a chip into her mouth.

"Hmm, that's true. It would mean we'd get to work more closely together though, we'd be sharing an office afterall..." He smiled, leering at her slightly. "Maybe I'd even let you boss me around for a change."

"Mmm, that could be fun." She glanced at the clock. "Now shut up and eat before we're both late for work!"

"See I said you'd be perfect for the job, you'll have no problems bossing people around!"

They finished their food quickly and then Duffy went off to wash and change into her uniform. As she came back in the room she glanced around and looked under the papers on the table.

"What you looking for?" Charlie asked.

"Car keys."

Reaching into his jacket pocket he held them up. "They're here."

She quickly glanced over before resuming her search. "No, my car keys."

"What do you need those for? We can just take my car."

"Don't you think that would look a tad obvious?"

"Ah, good point! Well, I'll just drop you off round the corner. No one will know then."

There had been a comfortable silence between them as they travelled into work, this was broken though as they nearer the centre of town.

"Pull down here and drop me off." Duffy suggested, pointing at a small side road.

"You sure? It's still a good ten minute walk from here to the hospital."

She shrugged and lent over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for the lift, I'll see you at work." She started to get out the car. 

"Hey, not so fast!" He reached out for her hand.

Leaning towards him, she kissed him once more. His arm went around her waist and she felt herself being pulled back inside the car. "Charlie!" She mumbled against his lips, giggling.

"Just needed to get that out my system!" He laughed. "See you at work." He watched as she closed the door and walked up the road. Once she turned the corner he restarted the engine and continued his journey to the hospital.

After arriving at work Duffy entered the staffroom and saw Megan making a cup of tea by the sink.

"Ah I see you made it home in one piece then, I knew I could rely on Charlie to take good care of you. How's your head?"

"Um... Fine thanks." Duffy stammered.

"That surprises me, state you were in last night. That said, Charlie wasn't much better. Pair of you were staggering about all over the place! I'm surprised either of you could remember where you lived."

"Well, um..." 

"Talking of Charlie, I take it that he also survived the night unscathed?" 

"Well, he was fine when he dropped me off. At my flat last night I mean. I haven't seen him since of course." She giggled nervously. 

Megan raised an eyebrow at Duffy but let it slide. "Hmm."

"He was the perfect gentleman!" Duffy suddenly blurted out.

"And so he should be." Megan replied firmly. "Right, enough idle chatting, time to get on. I'll see you later Duffy." She turned and left the room.

Duffy slumped into one of the chairs and put her head in her hands. Oh bloody hell!

Charlie was sat reading a file in his office when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

The door opened and Megan walked in. "Ah Charlie, good to see you're still alive after last night."

He shrugged. "Nothing a good sleep and a couple of aspirin can't cure Megan."

"And Duffy got home OK too?"

"Yeh, we picked up a takeaway and then I put her in a taxi. Why, has she not turned up for work?" He queried, looking concerned.

Before Megan could reply there was another knock at the door.

"Come in!"

Duffy opened the door, speaking quickly as she did so. "Charlie, we need to talk, I think..." She suddenly stopped as she saw Megan. "Um, it doesn't matter, I'll talk to you later!" She left, almost slamming the door in her haste to leave.

Megan turned to regard Charlie with a questioning look. "Care to explain that Charlie?"

"Explain what? The inner workings of Duffy's mind? Your guess is as good as mine Megan." 

"Don't get smart Charlie! So what really happened last night?"

Charlie turned back to his desk, picked up his pen and began to read the notes in front of him. If he thought Megan was going to give up and leave then he was poorly mistaken. He could feel Megan's stare burning into the back of his head.

"So were you at her place or yours when you slept with her last night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Megan."

The fact that Charlie refused to look her in the eye told Megan that she was spot on. "I actually considered the idea that you two were already a couple. That's why I let you leave together. Not so you could drunkenly get your leg over with her!"

Charlie sighed and continued to ignore her.

"Well I hope for both your sakes that you were careful! Because that's a nasty consequence neither of you needs." She paused. "So what you going to do now Charlie, chalk her up on the tally and move on?"

"She means much more to me than that!" He snapped turning to face Megan who looked unconvinced. "I really like her and was actually starting to make some progress but she's so terrified of you reacting badly that now she's clammed up."

"You 'really like her' do you? What are you, 12 years old all of a sudden? You're a grown man, she's 10 years younger and works for you. You can't possibly think it could work between the pair of you?"

"You already said you thought we were a couple last night. So you must think on some level that it could work." 

"Well you weren't exactly being subtle. There was one point I thought your eyes were going to fall out your head as you watched her walk to the bar! It was clear to everyone that neither of you could keep your hands to yourselves either." 

Charlie blushed slightly and shrugged. There was no point even trying to deny that he'd been ogling Duffy in the pub, Megan would see right through any excuses he tried to come up with. "Have you finished shouting at me now or is there more you'd like to add?" He asked sarcastically.

Megan sighed. It was clear to see that Charlie had made up his mind. "Only this - make sure you treat her right because if you don't you'll have me to answer to!" She didn't give him a chance to reply before she turned and left the office.

Charlie sat back in his chair and rubbed his hand across the back of his neck before getting up and heading out in search of Duffy.

He searched the entire department to no avail before finally wandering outside into the car park where he found her lent against the wall. She was turned away from him as he walked over and spoke. "You won't treat a lot of patients stood out here Nurse Duffin!" He chuckled.

Duffy jumped as she heard his voice. "Sorry, I'd best get back to work then." She replied sharply.

As she went to walk past he reached out his hand to stop her. "Hey, wait. I'm sorry, that was stupid." He sighed. "You missed out on seeing me get quite the lecture from Megan in there." 

"I'm sure she'll track me down at some point to give me an earful too." 

"I doubt it, I'm the one in the doghouse for being a naughty boy!" He smiled as Duffy broke out into giggles. "She also thought we were already dating!" 

"Really?" 

"Yeh, something to do with us not keeping our hands to ourselves last night." He laughed as he watched Duffy cover her face with her hands and groan in embarrassment. "What can I say? That dress you were wearing was very distracting. What's your excuse?" 

Duffy folded her arms and shook her head, an amused smile on her face. "Fishing for compliments are we?"

Charlie shrugged and raised his eyebrows with a grin. Duffy reached up and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her as the kiss deepened. Several moments passed before Duffy pulled away. "We best get back to work or we really will be in trouble with Megan!" She laughed, giving him a saucy wink as she walked back inside.


End file.
